Pro's and Con's of BeadLocks

[OrangeAddict]

I have read alot on the forum and other places that beadlocks are not meant for on road driving. I have the beadlock capable rims and frequently air down the tires for driving on the soft sand around the beach. That is typically only 18 to 20 PSI which I think I don't need to worry to much about loosing a bead, but I have seen it happen if someone gets a little to heavy on the skinny pedal. So the question is to put on the beadlocks and run them as a normal tire against the wishes of FORD or to end up later getting "street" tires and rims and having a separate set of "off road" tires and rims. What problems occur when running beadlocks on the road?

 

[treypal]

No real problems running them on the road. The issues with beadlocks happen off and on road.

Bolts get loose, they can leak, they're expensive.

 

[wiz1500]

Do you have the "Ford " bead lock or an aftermarket?
An aftermarket rim does not meet DOT requirements because in the event of a ring failure the tire will come off the rim..The "Ford" lock is designed to not let this happen.
The other problems with an after market rim is the lock bolts have to be re-torqued on a regular bases and they will constantly loose air PSI.. Ford has addressed all of these concerns with there rim..

 

[pickles1298]

I have been running the Walker Evans Race wheel with beadlocks on my truck for about a year now with 15k miles on them, and have had 0 problems. I have checked the torque on the rings twice, not 1 was loose! They are expensive, and that is the down side, but I like the peace of mind when airing down in the desert.

 

[KX250R]

For me, I like having a set of street wheels and a set of offroad wheels. That way I have nice rubber for the road, good in the snow, and if we are going to do some serious offroad then the "Real' offroad tires and wheels go on and we hammer down without worry over chunking, flats or busted wheels. If I had gone this route before wasting a small pile of tires and wheels offroad I would have been money ahead...LOL Just my two cents.

 

[BlueSVT]

Do you have the "Ford " bead lock or an aftermarket?
An aftermarket rim does not meet DOT requirements because in the event of a ring failure the tire will come off the rim..The "Ford" lock is designed to not let this happen.
The other problems with an after market rim is the lock bolts have to be re-torqued on a regular bases and they will constantly loose air PSI.. Ford has addressed all of these concerns with there rim..

This.

Basically, unless you really think you NEED them... or have the new Ford factory beadlocks... they're NOT worth the hassle. We've seen more issues from beadlocks, than from wheels without them on the runs.

 

[Huck]

Not what i wanted to read just before clicking the order button on the fuel trophy bead locks. will have to investigate more.

 

[Netix]

if you have to ask questions about beadlocks then they are not for you
end of story

---------- Post added at 12:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 PM ----------

For me, I like having a set of street wheels and a set of offroad wheels. That way I have nice rubber for the road, good in the snow, and if we are going to do some serious offroad then the "Real' offroad tires and wheels go on and we hammer down without worry over chunking, flats or busted wheels. If I had gone this route before wasting a small pile of tires and wheels offroad I would have been money ahead...LOL Just my two cents.

your dumb. this isnt a subaru where you have summer tires and winter tires. buy a damn tire and run it it's a damn truck.
I change my tires every 8-10 months. yes its expensive but if you dont like it dont chunk em off road.

i run heavy off camber trails with jeeps and rock crawling and mine never chunked. l2drive.

 

[OrangeAddict]

Do you have the "Ford " bead lock or an aftermarket?
An aftermarket rim does not meet DOT requirements because in the event of a ring failure the tire will come off the rim..The "Ford" lock is designed to not let this happen.
The other problems with an after market rim is the lock bolts have to be re-torqued on a regular bases and they will constantly loose air PSI.. Ford has addressed all of these concerns with there rim..

I have the Ford Bead Lock rims on the truck. Thinking of purchasing the actual beadlock kit in the future to replace the factory beauty ring.

 

[pickles1298]

I have the Ford Bead Lock rims on the truck. Thinking of purchasing the actual beadlock kit in the future to replace the factory beauty ring.

My Dad did that on his 13. Work's very well!